Roche to ship more than 400,000 coronavirus tests in U.S. this week

In order to boost screening capacity to help contain the growing coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization last week for a COVID-19 coronavirus test made by Swiss diagnostics maker Roche, which will roll out with over 400,000 tests this week.

The company says these “very precise” automated tests can provide results in 3.5 hours as opposed to a few days. The company will begin its rollout with over 400,000 tests this week, Roche CEO Dr. Severin Schwan told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“We are of course ramping up supply as much as we can,” he said, adding that the tests go first where they’re most needed. “For that purpose, we are closely working together with the authorities, the CDC, in particular, to allocate tests to those labs and to those regions where we can make the biggest impact during this crisis.”

MacDailyNews Note: In light of the extraordinary events due to the coronavirus, we may at times cover news that is not explicitly Apple-related (although the quicker we get a handle on this, the quicker Apple and other companies can reopen retail stores, so, basically, all coronavirus news is Apple-related to some extent). Hence this item on U.S. coronavirus tests. Any pertinent information we can help in our own small way to impart, we’ll do. Thank you for your patience and for doing your part to help flatten the curve! The lives of people you love may depend on it.